SINCE a citywide special operation against firms violating environmental regulations enacted April 3, the environmental protection and water affairs bureau in Bao’an District has inspected 3,553 companies and found 69 firms polluting air and water.

Among the 69 companies involved in polluting the environment, eight companies were found discharging polluted water, one discharging excessive pollutants and some others polluting the environment in various forms.

On April 3, a hardware products manufacturer based in Xixiang Subdistrict was found lacking legal documents for an environmental impact assessment and setting up a factory at an industrial park in Xixiang.

The law enforcement officials have filed a case against the company and plan to fine the manufacturer 300,000 yuan (US$47,045). The police have detained people involved in the case.

Another hardware-producing factory in Yanluo Subdistrict was asked to suspend production a week later as the person in charge of the factory also failed to present legal environmental impact assessment documents.

The factory was found to have violated environmental protection rules with its polluting methods, such as spraying powder, bonderizing and degreasing. It was banned from operating the next day.

On the afternoon of April 13, the law enforcement team inspected another firm in Shajing Subdistrict and found a company had been built without approval from the government and adopted industrial techniques that threatened the environment.

Bao’an District has vowed to keep cracking down on the illegal companies with tough and strict law enforcement measures.

(Cindy Zhang)